DETAILS.
The whole suit ([Fig. 37]) is freely ornamented with arabesqued foliations on a ground of fine vertical lines, banded in the Italian style, interspersed with human heads, some of them grotesque, and enclosed in medallions; and a series of armed figures, which would richly repay a close examination. The helmet is a remarkable piece of workmanship, and forged in a single piece; it weighs seven pounds. It is an Italian casque of a most graceful and classic form. The repoussé ornamentation on it is banded like the rest of the armour. The comb is very high, and fluted all over the crest. There are remains of a leather lining inside, fastened all round with gilded rivets. The plume socket has two holes for adjustment, and there is another hole in the comb for firmly securing the plume of feathers. The oreillettes are provided with six holes on one side, and three on the other, for hearing; and have each a round projecting eye, with fluted edges, presumably an attachment for keeping the flaps up when not required, or for fastening them across the throat. Both peaks are of overlapping plates, with fluted borders. A very similar helmet, formerly in the possession of Baron de Cosson, was ascribed by him to 1530–40. He writes concerning it: “Many rich suits had one of these light open helmets as well as a close helmet,” a fact proved by existing examples at Madrid and elsewhere. We have already quoted an example in the description of the suit of the Prince-Bishop of Salzburg, which has a close helmet and a cabasset. The cuirass has a tapul, with a projection near the bottom; this particular form was termed the “peascod” in England. Both these pieces are bordered round the chest and arms with a thick ridged piping. This piping was a contrivance to stop a stroke from penetrating beneath the gorget. The tassets consist of six lames, and are attached to the tace, which is in one piece, by straps and buckles; all the rivets have gilded heads. The lower body is protected by chain-mail. The left pauldron is the larger; both have free laminations at the shoulder and upper arm. The coudières are cup-formed over the elbows, and go round the arm. The gauntlets have highly-rounded articulations for the fingers, with a separate thumb plate. Both leg armour and sollerets are freely decorated in “banded” ornamentations, with enclosed medallions, besides gilded rivets. A sharp ridge runs down the front of the cuisse, genouillière, and jamb. The genouillières are fastened round the back of the knee by straps, and on to the jambs by a reversible turning pin on the latter, passing through a hole in the former; and a turn of the screw secures the attachment. Jambs, which are hinged, and sollerets are riveted together, with lames above the ankle. The sollerets are “bear-paw.” All these pieces are held together by gilded rivets. The suit was probably made in the third quarter of the sixteenth century, or possibly as late as the fourth quarter, though the shape of the sollerets would point to a somewhat earlier period. [Fig. 38] exhibits some details of the suit. The stand on which the armour is hung is very old, and has probably stood in the armoury of the castle of Beauraing for centuries; and the face is very possibly a portrait of the Duke d’Osuna.
Fig. 37.—Suit of the Duc D’Osuna.
Fig. 38.—Some details of the Osuna Suit.
The beautifully embossed harness at Vienna, made for the Archduke Ferdinand of Tyrol, about 1560, is the work of the Milanese master, Battista Serabaglio. The casque is of classic form.
An embossed suit ([Fig. 39]), made by Anton Peffenhauser of Augsburg, about 1570, for Don Sebastian of Portugal, is in the Armeria Real at Madrid (Catálogo, page 94, No. A290); it is a notable example of the time.
The collection in the hall set apart for enriched armour at Dresden is especially valuable in exhibiting a remarkable series of fourteen historic suits, blazing with ornamentation, and covering a period of from something like the second quarter of the sixteenth to the end of the first quarter in the seventeenth century. All these suits are royal specimens of their school. The earliest is the harness of Kurfürst Moritz of Saxony, 1521–53. The rider sits on horseback in his field-harness, which is freely decorated with gold arabesques on blue bands. The Kurfürst bore this armour on his entry into the conquered city of Magdeburg in 1551. The bards are enriched in the same manner as the armour borne by the Kurfürst. Another suit is that of Duke (afterwards Kurfürst) August, 1526–86. It is fluted and richly ornamented, bearing the Saxon arms inlaid. This harness was the gift of the Archduke Ferdinand of Tyrol, and is probably the work of Jörg Seusenhofer of Innsbruck. The figure holds a field-marshal’s baton in the right hand. The legend, “Semper suave,” is inlaid on the bards. Another suit of this Duke’s is a specimen of blackened harness with white bands; a description much worn in campaigning in the second half of the sixteenth century and later, because it was easily kept clean in all weathers. It is a fine piece of work, and is inscribed with the date 1546. The Duke bore this suit at the battle of Mühlberg in the year following. A harness of Duke Johann Wilhelm of Weimar, bearing the mark of Kunz Lochner of Nuremberg, date about 1560. A suit for man and horse of Kurfürst Christian I., 1560–91. Tournament reinforcing pieces stand by it—a tilting helm, grand-guard, garde-de-bras, etc. The harness for man and horse of Kurfürst Christian II. (1583–1611), a masterpiece of the armour-smith’s art, is by Heinrich Knopf of Nuremberg, and cost £1,750. The ornamentation consists of arabesques on a gold ground with enclosed medallions. A rapier by Andreis Munsten of Solingen is with the suit. There is a second suit that belonged to this prince—the ground is a dull green, with chasings. This harness, according to an inventory of 1606, was bought at Augsburg in 1602—it bears no mark. The latest harness of the series is that of Kurfürst Johann Georg I., and the date is 1622; it is the work of Hieronymus Ringler of Augsburg, and though very richly decorated exhibits unmistakable signs of the decline of art.
